COMMUNICATIONS

CDHB’s Women’s Health service earns Quality Health Accreditation

The Canterbury District Health Board’s Women’s Health service is celebrating another Quality Health Accreditation award. It is the third time since the service’s first successful audit in July 2000 that it has received the award.

“Not that it was any easier this time round,” says Clinical Project Facilitator Maxine Wilkins. “We have learned so much in the last seven years and were, in many ways, better prepared this time round.”

The Quality Health Accreditation status applies to all Women’s Health services including Christchurch Women’s Hospital, Lincoln Hospital, Rangiora Hospital, Lyndhurst Hospital and Burwood Birthing Unit and covers the period from 2007 to 2010.

The Quality Health New Zealand accreditation process is a survey against standards developed on the following principles: client focus, leadership, teamwork, continuous quality improvement, best practice and process outcomes of management. The audit is based on a peer review by senior health professionals and managers and to receive accreditation the service has to perform well across all of the listed areas.

Maxine says the award is a credit to the continued commitment, energy and intelligence of all of the Women and Children’s Health staff members, as well as support teams within the DHB including departments such as radiology, anaesthetics, laboratory, pharmacy and human resources.

“The audit requires the whole organisation to be committed to improving its performance,” says Maxine. “Being better prepared included a vast amount of work done over the last three years such as planning, staff education and training, professional development, surveys, incident or complaint investigations, and meetings.”

“The accreditation provides a tangible way to measure and monitor the health services we provide and also increases the trust the public can have in these services,” says Maxine.

ENDS